The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords

In The Black Press, filmmaker Stanley Nelson provides us with a masterful example of what documentary film was born to do: tell compelling stories that reveal emotional and historical truths in unique and unforgettable ways. Nelson's film provides a riveting look at the birth, evolution, and impact of African-American newspapers and African-American journalism in the U.S. in the last century and a half. Except for portions of the superlative video Ida B. Wells: A Passion for Justice (VL-4/90), this is a subject which has been surprisingly little covered by documentary film or video. Nelson does the topic proud. Beginning with the first pre-Civil war independent black newspapers and the rise of the Southern black press during Reconstruction, the filmmaker describes the importance of these early publications in giving African-Americans an unprecedented voice and a vital sense of identity in a socially and politically hostile world. Using a wealth of historical footage and photos, and interviews with pioneering black journalists (backed by a knock-out, blues-and-jazz-infused score), Nelson chronicles the continuing growth of the black press in the early part of this century, and reveals the central role of these papers in both encouraging African-American migration out of the South, and in establishing new northern urban communities. Central to this history--perhaps the most fascinating part--are the lives and contributions of remarkable publishers and editors (Charlotta Bass, Robert S. Abbott, Robert Vann), as well as the largely unsung, newsprint "soldiers"--the men and women who wrote the copy, drew the cartoons, and snapped the pictures. A program packed with historical revelations (the segment on the black press during World War II--its battles with the government over frequently critical social and political editorial stances--is simply amazing), The Black Press is a video which no library interested in African-American history or journalism should be without. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. Aud: J, H, C, P. (G. Handman)